Abstract: Women in midlife continue to assume the roles of "caregiver" and "mother" in contemporary American society (Hagemann-White, 1984). These traditional roles often clash with new roles arising from ongoing demographic change, especially the increase in educational attainment and the rise in labor force participation. Public policy designed to encourage the care and assistance of kin as a familial obligation thus has the potential to significantly affect midlife women’s labor force experiences and strain familial relationships.